Device for counting floating products

ABSTRACT

A device for determining the quantity of products, notably fruits, traveling by buoyancy in a trough in which a water circulation is maintained comprises two groups of retractable barrier elements disposed across the flow path upstream and downstream of the trough, respectively, and adapted temporarily to prevent any movement of the products carried along by the fluid stream. These elements define with the walls of the trough a buoyancy area adapted to receive a predetermined amount of floating products.

United States Patent 1191 Rousselie et a1.

[ Nov. 13, 1973 DEVICE FOR COUNTING FLOATING PRODUCTS lnventors: Calude JosephRoussclie, Saint- Sylvain dAnjou, Maine et Loire; Pierre Lacharlotte, Ecouflant,

Maine et Loire, both of France Assignee: S. I. C. A. Romanjou, Ecouflant, m Manisa tFr rsq-13."-

Filed: Feb. 4, 1972 Appl. No.: 223,478

Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 16, 1971 France, 7106559 US. Cl 209/122, 134/63, 134/133,

1 302/14 Int. Cl. B07c 7/00 Field of Search ..302/1416;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 417,351 12/1889 Anderson 137/262 X 1,635,414 7/1927 Hirst 3,319,639 5/1967 Anderson 134/134 Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher Attorney-l(arl F. Ross [57] ABSTRACT A device for determining the quantity of products, notably'fruits, traveling by buoyancy in a trough in which a water circulation is maintained comprises two groups of retractable barrier elements disposed across the flow path upstream and downstream of the trough, respectively, and adapted temporarily to prevent any movement of the products carried along by the fluid stream. These elements define with the walls of the trough a buoyancy area adapted to receive a predetermined amount of floating products.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 DEVICE FOR COUNTING FLOATING PRODUCTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Our present invention relatesto a device for determining a quantity of floatable products, notably fruits, transferred by buoyancy ina trough in which a fluid circulation is maintained. v

Devices of this character are used notably but not exc lusively in plants for sorting and grading fruits, wherein the fruits are entrained by buoyancy at least from a sorting and grading station to a filling station whereat the products are gathered in cases or crates adapted to be palletized, or in any other suitable storage or packaging units.

At present, when a certain amount of fruits accumulate behind a gate extending across one trough directing the fruits to the filling station, an operator controls t 92m ns of t is sat .91mi thi amount of fruits can fill up a case or crate at the filling station. Since the estimation of this quantity of fruits is rather arbitrary, the rate of filling of the cases is obviously variable and in many cases less than the assumed quantities. If the plant is operated for treating a relatively high tonnage of fruits in a day and therefore utilizes a relatively great number of palletizing cases, the difference between the quantity of fruits contained in each case and the maximum quantity likely to be received therein may represent an appreciable tonnage at the end of a days work. As a result, the number of palletizing cases handled and filled is considerably greater than what it should actually be. This increased number of cases means a higher number of filling operations, and therefore a lower efficiency of the plant and a greater volume and area necessary for the storage of filled cases. i

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the chief object of this invention to provide a device for avoiding the inconveniences set forth hereinabove.

barrier which is kept inblocking position. When the buoyancy area is covered completely with fruits, the hitherto withdrawn upstream barrier is moved into blocking closed position across the stream, so that the fruits carried thereby cannot enter the above-defined buoyancy area. To release the fruits enclosed in this area, it is only necessary to move the retractable downstream barrier back to its blocking position.

According to atypical embodiment of this our invention, at least one of these groups of retractable elements, preferably the upstream barrier, is adapted to be moved in the axial or longitudinal direction of the trough to permit the necessary adjustment of the buoyancy area as a function of the estimated capacity of the storage or packaging unit to which the predetermined quantity of fruits or other products is to be delivered,

or as a function of variations in the size or grade of the fruits or other floating products.

immersed and inclined to the buoyancy area.

Thus, even in their blocking position the retractable barrier cannot obstruct the fluid flow in the trough.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING '7 FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are diagrammatic side-elevational and axial sectional views showing three successive phases in the operation embodying the counting device of this invention,

FIG. 4, drawn to a larger scale, is a similar sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of FIG. 5 to show a specific construction of a retractable barrier according to our invention; and a FIG. 5 is a plan view of the barrier shown in FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawing, the reference numeral 2 designates a trough or gutter in which a continuous stream of fluid, notably a water stream 3 with or without additives, is maintained by suitable means (not shown).

The device according to this invention comprises essentially two groups of retractable elements forming barriers or gates, namely an upstream gate 4 and a downstream gate 5. These gates 4 and 5 are disposed at right angles to the water level and with a predetermined relative spacing. Between these gates 4, 5 and the longitudinal walls 2a of trough 2 a buoyancy area 6 is thus formed.

Initially, only the downstream gate 5 is closed. Thus, when the fruits 7 delivered for example from a sorting and grading station (not shown) and traveling by buoyancy on the water stream 3 accumulate against the downstream gate 5 and then gradually cover the entire buoyancy area 6. Then the upstream gate 4 is moved to its closed position as shown in FIG. 2. When the storage or packaging unit, such as a case or'crate adapted to be palletized, isbrouglit to the filling station (not shown) located downstream of the device, the downstream gate 5 is raised to permit the delivery to that station of the predetermined quantity of fruits retained in the device, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

Of course, when the last fruit 7 has been released from the device, both gates 4 and 5 are restored to their initial positions, as shown in FIG. l.

With this device it is possible to determine with accuaracy the quantity of fruits or other products to be introduced into any storage or packaging unit, and therefore to keep at a constant value the filing rate of these units. Thus the number of storage or packaging units to be used is reduced as well as the corresponding necessary handling operations and storage volume and area.

Advantageously, at least one of the two retractable barriers, preferably the upstream barrier, is arranged to permit the adjustment of its longitudinal position in relation to the other barrier. Thus, the extent of the buoyancy area can be modified as desired for adjusting the quantity of fruits or other products to be counted or metered by the device, according to the capacity of the storage or handling unit, or as a function of the size or grade of the fruits or other articles.

According to a preferred construction of a barrier according to our invention, each group of retractable barrier elements comprises a grid (FIG. 4) curved in the transverse direction and secured substantially at right angles to the lower ends of a pair of lateral arms 12 that are fixedly secured at their other ends to a horizontal shaft 13. This shaft 13, extending across and overlying the trough 2, is journaled in the upper portion of a pair of parallel vertical uprights 14 of a fixed frame structure. Shaft 13 is rigid with one end of an arm 15 having its other end pivotally connected to the piston rod 16 of a pneumatic or hydraulic actuator having its cylinder 17 rigidly mounted on a cross member 18. As illustrated more in detail in FIG. 5, this cross member 18 is rigidly connected through longitudinal arms 19 to the top of uprights 14.

Of course, these uprights 14 supporting the retractable barrier are rigidly yet detachably secured to the walls 2a of trough 2.

In the unblocking position illustrated in phantom lines in FIG. 4, the grid 10 is substantially parallel and close to the bottom of trough 2. In this position the grid 10 cannot specifically interfere with the flow of fruits 7 floating on the surface 6 of the body of water circulating in the trough 2.

Operating the actuator 16, 17 in the direction of the arrow 20 (FIG. 4) will cause the shaft 13 to rotate in the direction of the arrow 21, thus swinging the grid 10 about its pivoted axis into its blocking position shown in solid lines in FIG. 4. It should be noted that in this position the grid 10 is only partly immersed in the water stream 3 and inclined by an angle a in relation to the surface 6 thereof.

When the actuator 16, 17 is operated in the opposite direction, the grid 10 is gradually immersed, owing to its curved shape, will not tend to move the fruits backward.

Preferably, in order to prevent the fruits 7 accumulated behind the grid 10 from sinking more or less into the water and thus impairing the flow thereof, each grid 10 is jurtaposed with a false bottom 22 parallel to, and somewhat spaced from, the actual bottom of trough 2. This false bottom 22 may advantageously consist of a grid having bars disposed at the same relative spacing as, and interleaved with, those of grid 10. As shown more particularly in FIG. 4, the downstream portion 22a of this false bottom 22 Is aligned with the teeth of grid 10 and acts as a stop member which, in combination with grid 10, limits the permissible downward movement of the fruits retained thereby.

Although, the device according to this invention is intended more particularly for determining the quantity of fruits to be delivered into a storage or packaging unit, this device may also be used in many other applications, notably for determining the exact quantity of any other products adapted to be transferred by flotation from one place to another.

We claim as our invention 1. A device for metering quantities of floatable products, comprising:

a trough traversed by a unidirectionally flowing body of liquid; an upstream barrier and a downstream barrier retractably disposed in said trough at spaced-apart location for selectively blocking the movement of products floating on said body of liquid, said barriers giving passage to the liquid in a blocking position and being removable therefrom into an unblocking position in which the movement of said products with the liquid is unobstructed; and

actuating means for said barrrier alternately operable to admit some of said products into an area of said trough bounded by said barriers, in a quantity sufficient to cover said area, and for subsequently discharging the quantity so admitted before admitting further products into said area.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said barriers comprises a set of transversely spaced elements jointly swingable about a horizontal pivotal axis above said trough, said elements lying substantially horizontally below said axis near the trough bottom in said unblocking position and passing inclinedly through the liquid level in said unblocking position.

3. A device as defined in claim 2 wherein said elements are curved about said pivotal axis.

4. A device as defined in claim 2 wherein said trough is provided with an elevated false bottom spaced from said trough bottom, said false bottom extending into the swing path of at least one of said barriers and having gaps giving clearance to the elements thereof fdr enabling the barrier to swing past said false bottom into said unblocking position.

5. A device as defined in claim 4 wherein said false bottom comprises a grid with transversely spaced bars extending in longitudinal direction of said trough, said bars being interleaved with said elements.

6. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein at least one of said barriers is longitudinally displaceable along said trough for varying the extent of said area. 

1. A device for metering quantities of floatable products, comprising: a trough traversed by a unidirectionally flowing body of liquid; an upstream barrier and a downstream barrier retractably disposed in said trough at spaced-apart location for selectively blocking the movement of products floating on said body of liquid, said barriers giving passage to the liquid in a blocking position and being removable therefrom into an unblocking position in which the movement of said products with the liquid is unobstructed; and actuating means for said barrrier alternately operable to admit some of said products into an area of said trough bounded by said barriers, in a quantity sufficient to cover said area, and for subsequently discharging the quantity so admitted before admitting further products into said area.
 2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said barriers comprises a set of transversely spaced elements jointly swingable about a horizontal pivotal axis above said trough, said elements lying substantially horizontally below said axis near the trough bottom in said unblocking position and passing inclinedly through the liquid level in said unblocking position.
 3. A device as defiNed in claim 2 wherein said elements are curved about said pivotal axis.
 4. A device as defined in claim 2 wherein said trough is provided with an elevated false bottom spaced from said trough bottom, said false bottom extending into the swing path of at least one of said barriers and having gaps giving clearance to the elements thereof for enabling the barrier to swing past said false bottom into said unblocking position.
 5. A device as defined in claim 4 wherein said false bottom comprises a grid with transversely spaced bars extending in longitudinal direction of said trough, said bars being interleaved with said elements.
 6. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein at least one of said barriers is longitudinally displaceable along said trough for varying the extent of said area. 